


Indigo

by Steangine



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Boyband AU, M/M, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5931081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steangine/pseuds/Steangine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine Daiki is the singer of the rock band "Kiseki". And Kuroko Tetsuya has a crush on him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Happy late Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Requested on tumblr. It took me ages to finish this and ended up being a two chapters and not a one shot.

It was difficult being Kuroko Tetsuya in a dome filled with screaming fans jumping up and down with their bodies tensed from the delusion of being able to be closer to their idols in that way. Normally nobody noticed him and that wasn’t such a big deal. However, surrounded by a horde of hormonal boys and girls, he was in constant danger of being squashed.

Kuroko was such a normal boy that he reached the edges of the dullness. Nobody would have ever guessed one of his few -but great- friends was Akashi Seijuurou, the bassist of the emerging band “ _Kiseki_ ”. It was thank to him that Kuroko managed to receive one of the last tickets of their first concert in Tokyo after the tour in Japan – Because he didn’t manage to attend his birthday party and he wanted to meet him as soon as possible; that was the excuse Akashi wrote on the greeting card. Kuroko was a bit embarrassed, as for Akashi’s birthday he had just bought him a stuffed toy he had happened to reveal he particularly liked, but every trace of his guilty feelings were erased by the very first notes of the opening song.

Akashi looked very cool while playing the bass; in person it was more tangible that from the television. He was the shortest in the band, however on the stage he stood out even more than his companions and his concentrated expression made him appear more handsome than Kuroko remembered. Akashi was able to stand on the same ground of Kise Ryouta, the tall and gorgeous guitarist who hadn’t stop smiling from the very beginning of the concert to its end. Just behind them there were Midorima Shintarou , who maintained his serious expression behind the glasses while playing the keyboard, and Murasakibara Atsushi, the giant drummer.

But Kuroko, for how he was trying to focus his attention on every member, realized how his eyes always lingered on the singer. His hoarse voice made him sound like he was flirting and probably most of the people in there, Kuroko included, not so secretly imagined that as his eyes turned on the part of the dome where they stood, the words of the songs were direct at themselves.

Under the spotlights his voice and his whole body was giving an erotic vibe Kuroko didn’t feel that much while watching the other concerts in the television. Kuroko let his sensual voice fill him and was satisfied just by being so close to him that he was able to notice every change of expression on his face, even if he was risking to be smacked on the floor by all the other fans.

Probably, Kuroko thought in the midst of his heartbeats, he had to give up after 5 months of denying and admit he totally had a senseless crush on Aomine Daiki.

 

***

 

“Kise, when we duet don’t stick on me that much. It’s freaking hot, you know?!”

“Wha–? Why are you always so mean with me?!”

At the beginning it looked like Aomine and Kise got along pretty well. But sometimes Kise was too clingy and loud and Aomine too tired and touchy for them to bear each other. If Akashi managed to handle the situation quite well, Midorima and Momoi still had their problems to keep the calm. Murasakibara didn’t find it an issue, as he just kept minding his own business as long as he could eat in peace. And Aomine and Kise, since the last time they angered him, were careful not to argue within his reach; they still remembered how fearful was to face an enraged over two meters tall guy whose cake had fallen on the floor in the middle of a quarrel.

“Akashi-kun!” As Akashi entered the room, Momoi turned towards him with her eyes full of hopes just to be let down from his attire. “Are you going away already?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. We had so much to do I forgot to tell you.”

“Really?” Suddenly Kise forgot about Aomine. “Are you going home?”

“No. I’m going out with a friend.”

With that sentence he managed to draw all the attention upon him. Even Murasakibara, who was busy deciding which Maiubo flavor was the best among those he had recently bought, got distracted from his food and looked at Akashi.

Aomine was rude enough to get over the embarrass of asking the question that popped inside everyone’s mind.

“Is he the boyfriend you talked about?”

“No. He is a friend of mine.” He took his shoulder bag. “But tomorrow I’ll have a date with my boyfriend, so it would be kind of you if you could avoid calling me. Momoi, I’m counting on you.”

He left behind a cold silence full of disbelief.

It was too late and Akashi felt sorry, as the concert ended up later than he had thought. Probably Kuroko had been waiting him for a while and in fact he was surprised by his voice as he looked around into the entrance hall.

“Uhm… Seijuurou-kun?”

Almost near the entrance, Kuroko was standing in a rigid pose, showing how unease he was feeling for being in a place too much elegant for his standards.

“Tetsuya. Happy birthday, again.”

That greeting managed to relax him a bit and Kuroko smiled.

“Seijuurou-kun, thank you. You must be tired now.”

“I’m fine. I wanted to spend some time with you since it’s been a long time. And–” He smoothly put an arm around Kuroko’s shoulders, preventing him from going out in the jungle of determined fans who were still eagerly hoping to see the _Kiseki_ again. “–it’s better using our back exit.”

_ Their _ back exit wasn’t the real back exit, as that one was also oversaw. They passed through the laundromat, which had only two doors: the one to the corridor and the one to the alley. As soon as they reached the main road, Akashi had already a cap covering his read hair and nobody noticed that one of the members of the _Kiseki_ was walking away not so distant from them.

“It must be difficult.”

“Sometimes. I like having fans but I miss my privacy.”

The first idea Kuroko had was going to eat something at Maji Burger. They ended up eating something but Kuroko had never entered that place, as just from the outside it looked too expensive; yet he couldn’t do anything to prevent Akashi from dragging him inside.

“This place is… western.”

“Yes. It’s a western style pub. I thought here it would have been difficult to meet someone who knows me. And it’s open all night.”

“Yes, but…”

“Of course this is part of your birthday present.”

“Bu–“

“Kuroko.” Akashi was firm. “I’m doing this because I feel like doing it for you. Alright?”

Kuroko nodded and right after hid himself behind the menu, wondering if his stomach would have accepted something other than a vanilla shake. The price was more expensive than the Maji’s and Kuroko hoped it was worth it.

“Now…” Akashi leaned against the chair with a smile. “What happened lately here?”

Probably everything was less exciting than touring around the Japan being constantly followed by the cameras and lodging in luxurious hotels, however Kuroko noticed how Akashi was very happy to be informed about the “normal” things he missed from his new life.

“I’m so happy for Aida-san and Hyuuga-san. Though, wasn’t she going out with Kiyoshi-san?”

“It happened a year ago but it didn’t last long. Kiyoshi-senpai told me so and I didn’t inquired further.”

Akashi kept an eye on the French fries in the middle of the table, wondering how they would taste mixed together with the flavor of the vanilla shake Kuroko was drinking. He was about to ask, when a too much familiar voice struck inside his ears.

“Akashicchi? Why are you here alone?”

Akashi bit his French fry and Kuroko heard the noise of his teeth clenching. He turned his head: right beside their table, with a hoodie that was badly hiding his identity, there was Kise Ryouta, who looked genuinely confused. But Kuroko, in that moment, could only see Aomine Daiki, who didn’t seem to care Akashi was there too and took off his cap.

“I’m hungry.”

Aomine was too tall, too hunky and strong. And Kuroko was too light, so Aomine had no difficulties dragging the chair he was sitting on away from the table.

“Wh–the fuck?!” Aomine stepped behind. “Since when are you here?”

“Since before you arrived.” Kuroko spoke with an unusual calm, yet Akashi caught a glimpse of his nervousness from the way he stressed on a plain tone of voice. “…nice to meet you.”

Before Akashi could actually complain and send them away, Aomine and Kise had already taken two chairs and sat around the tiny table.

“Uhm… nice to meet you.”

Aomine tried to break the tension of that unusual meeting by taking a fry, however Akashi scolded him.

“Aomine, those aren’t mine.”

“I don’t particularly mind.” Kuroko hurried to rescue him, but Aomine retired his hand.

“Uh, sorry.”

Kuroko was close to the guy he had a crush on and all he managed to do was ignoring him while Kise was trying to stick his nose in his relationship with Akashi.

“So you know each other from middle school.”

“Yes.”

Kuroko was desperately trying not to look at his right, where Aomine was quietly eating his burger. Of course Kise was making his job easier, as the arrival of his drink didn’t stop him from satisfying his thirst of leaks on Akashi’s middle school period. Akashi was glad that Kuroko was wary enough to give uncompromising replies without appearing ambiguous.

“Considering you are Akashicchi’s friend you are so… normal.”

Akashi understood Kise meant something meaner but he had some decency to sound as polite as possible. He was glad that Aomine sneaked into that intrusive interrogatory by stealing Kise’s colorful drink from his hands.

“Hey Kise. Let me taste it.” He took a sip and grimaced in disgust. “Bleah. It seems made of candies.”

“If you don’t like it then stop drinking it!”

Aomine kept away Kise, who was trying to retrieve his drink and Kuroko took the chance to remember how to breath normally. He ate another fry, then gulped down what remained of his milkshake. The gentle sweet flavor of vanilla refreshed him enough to notice Akashi got a bit closer to speak at lower voice.

“You seem a bit troubled. I didn’t take in count they know this place.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.” It was a pleasant surprise for Kuroko to realize he was still able to speak normally and not just by syllables.

Akashi smiled. “Before I forget, did you like the concert, Tetsuya?” He raised his voice just in time to escape the questioning look Kise, who had just rescued what remained of his drink, gave them.

“It was beautiful. I truly liked it.”

“There’s no need to sugarcoat.”

Kuroko froze as Aomine’s sharp voice hit him from behind.

That was his first attempt in taking a part into the conversation. Until that moment he had just been eating and drinking to fill his stomach but especially to do something to relieve his boredom, since he had been basically dragged there by Kise. Kuroko was caught by surprise. He wanted to reply, his reply was elaborated and ready to be articulated into words, however he wasn’t sure he had enough strength to turn his head and face Aomine.

“I’m not sugarcoating.”

Akashi –the one who detected before him his crush on Aomine– gently pressed the tip of his shoe against his leg and Kuroko turned towards Aomine with a jolt.

From up close Aomine was even more attractive. Even with that puzzled and terrified look on his face. Kuroko realized he had acted a bit strangely and his irrational side hoped for a chasm to open right below him just to gulp him for the eternity. His inner chaos, however, wasn’t visible from the outside: his face was perfectly calm, to the point his eyes looked blank and disturbing.

“I’m not sugarcoating.” He repeated with the fear his voice would have betrayed him. It didn’t happen and Kuroko relaxed.

“Uhm… okay. I’m sorry?”

“I truly liked it. Even if in the end _you_ didn’t sing “ _Indigo”_.”

Kuroko realized what he had just said and hoped that for some strange reason at least Aomine didn’t hear him. Of course, he perfectly heard him. Everyone heard him. He always passed unnoticed and had to repeat his words at least twice most of the times; but the only time he needed his characteristic, that didn’t come in handy.

“I sang it.” Kise chuckled. “Didn’t you like it?”

“Uhm…” Kuroko saw on Kise’s face the reflection of his hesitation, as the huge smile shrunk. “…isn’t that Aomine’s song?”

Aomine frowned. “Nobody likes _Indigo_ when I sing it.”

“I like it.” Kuroko didn’t control his mouth again.

“No way.”

Kuroko tilted his head and contracted his eyebrows a bit. “I really like it. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because nobody likes _Indigo_ when I sing it.”

“I don’t think so… I mean…”

Kuroko was trying to speak while looking at Aomine, but he suddenly felt like everything he could have said would have been an enormous idiocy. Kise saved him by sneaking into the conversation.

“For our first album each of us composed a song to sing. Aominecchi’s is the lowest in the rank because Indigo isn’t suited for his voice. He can’t catch some notes, and he is mad about it.”

“Kise, shut up!”

Aomine tended his hand to grab Kise’s hair, however Kise reacted in time to block his wrist and tried to pay him back just to be stopped in turn. With their hands blocked, they ended up glaring at each other as intensely as possible.

“…Tetsuya…”

“Don’t worry Seijuurou-kun. I appreciate spending some time with you.”

“Next time I’ll definitely find a place they don’t know.”

“I’m serious Seijuurou-kun, I don’t mind.”

Kuroko felt like he had been luckier than he could have ever hoped as he had talked for almost two minutes straight with his crush without passing out. Even if, after he started arguing again with Kise, Aomine didn’t give him any attention anymore.

Both him and Kise didn’t notice Kuroko greeting them before going away and when they were satisfied with their quarrel they noticed the empty chair.

“Did he go to the toilet?” Kise pointed his thumb behind him. 

“He headed home. It’s quite late and I should be going too.” Akashi talked smoothly as he stood up and wore his jacket and cap. “I don’t know what you two are going to do tomorrow, but some rest surely won’t trouble you.”

“He didn’t even say _Bye_!” Aomine complained.

“He said it when you were discussing with Kise and both replied a distracted _Yeah bye_.”

“…really?”

Akashi nodded with a tiny sigh. “Are you two going back with me?”

 

***

 

Kuroko didn’t need an alarm clock to wake up. He had a dog who every morning jumped on the bed and panted near his ear to make him rise from the nest of blankets.

“Nigou…”

His voice sounded like he had something blocked inside his throat and he couldn’t get rid of it. Yet Nigou perfectly heard his name and yapped happily, scampering all over Kuroko’s body and sniffing the blankets to find a hole from where he could reach his master. When Nigou walked a second time on his stomach, Kuroko understood he wouldn’t have slept anymore. As he sat down, still wrapped inside the blankets, Nigou barked and jumped down from the bed, making his way towards the door; he disappeared for an instant beyond the doorstep, then came back to call Kuroko with another bark.

However Kuroko didn’t want to get up. He tried to drag on the moment he had to abandon his bed and checked his mobile while Nigou climbed again on the bed. He didn’t insist on calling Kuroko, but sat on his legs and stared at him in wait.

“Let me read this message and then we’ll take a walk, alright?”

It seemed like Nigou understood. He put his paws on Kuroko’s arm and looked at the screen.

Kuroko opened the message. Few words that woke him up.

“ _Hello Tetsuya.”_ It was Akashi. _“Aomine is asking if I can give him your mobile number.”_

When did Akashi send it? Kuroko checked the hour and realized he had received it while he was already sleeping in bed. Tons of questions stumbled into his mind, from the reason Aomine asked for his number to the doubt he was still asleep.

He replied with a single word.

_ “Yes.” _

And while preparing to go out he kept checking the mobile, even if the ringtone was turned on, until he heard it right after he went out with Nigou.

Kuroko didn’t know what to expect. The unknown number on the screen provoked a warm tingling inside his chest that spread to the stomach.

“ _Hi. Akashi told me you set Indigo’s refrain as your ringtone and it’s my version.”_

He barely finished to read that another message popped out.

_ “Btw, I’m Aomine Daiki.” _

Kuroko followed Nigou with his mind totally blank. He didn’t know how to reply.

_ “Hi. Yes, I did.” _

Short, simple. A bit too cold. Kuroko smacked his head and Nigou stopped sniffing a tree and went rubbing his head against his leg.

Aomine was fast to reply.

_ “Until I don’t hear it I won’t believe it.” _

_ “But it’s the truth.” _

That discussion took a strange direction. Then Kuroko, after a minute he spent staring at his dog being petted by the old man who lived near their house, received a message from Akashi.

_ “Tetsuya, I’m sorry if I sound rude, but I’m trying to enjoy my date with Kouki. Could you please ask Aomine to meet? He didn’t want to sound like a stalker and hoped you to catch the ball. He won’t stop messaging me.” _

The mobile phone almost slipped from Kuroko’s hands. It was difficult to type back with shaky fingers.

_ “It’s the truth. But if you don’t believe me, I can show you.” _

Nigou jumped on the bench and laid his head on Kuroko’s leg, staring up at the smile on his face. Kuroko gently stroked his head behind the ears, receiving a muffled pleasured sigh.

The mobile ringed again.

_ “You better do! Tomorrow I’m free.” _


	2. Brain and heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a date. But almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second and last chapter. The pairing has not happened yet but they are close to it. At the end there's a bit of AkaFuri.

Akashi entered Kuroko’s room and the first thing he noticed were the clothes piled on the bed. Kuroko divided the trousers from the t-shirts and sweaters, making an ordered partition of his clothes, and he was staring at them so intensely he didn’t notice Akashi standing next to him.

“Hello, Tetsuya.”

Kuroko jolted a bit. “Seijuurou-kun. Please, don’t scare me like that.”

“That should be my line.” Akashi observed the garments. “Are you cleaning your wardrobe?”

“Not really. I think my clothes… don’t fit me anymore?”

Akashi frowned. He wasn’t really sure he heard perfectly, as that sentence wasn’t suited to Kuroko.

“It doesn’t look you grew up a lot since the last time we saw. Oh, sorry.” He tried to repair to his words when Kuroko’s eyes darted towards him. “I meant that we have more or less the same built and I’m pretty sure I didn’t went through mayor changes lately. So maybe it’s an impression.”

Kuroko shook his head. “You don’t understand. Everything looks lame on me. I don’t know why.”

“Tetsuya, you have to meet Aomine in an hour, don’t you?”

His silence was a perfect reply. Even if Kuroko was maintaining the calm, Akashi realized he was panicking inside.

“It’s not a date, so what you are wearing is not that important.”

“Uhm, yes, you are right.”

Kuroko smiled and Akashi caught a glimpse of his terror. Probably using logic wasn’t functional to calm him down.

“May I help you with choosing your outfit?”

His “Yes.” arrived too fast to hide the desperation that was gripping Kuroko. Somehow, Akashi recognized in Kuroko all the feelings that troubled him before his first date with Furihata. It was time to return the favor.

“Let’s see what you have here.”

Kuroko had enough faith in Akashi to let him do the job and asked only once if he was sure he didn’t look like a puppet with a sack on. That was the first time Akashi witnessed a Kuroko who actually cared how he looked in the eyes of somebody else.

“And remember to be calm. It’s not a date.” He repeated before they parted, however, while staring at Kuroko moving towards the underground station like a robot, Akashi wondered if he did right adding the last advice.

 

***

 

Kuroko arrived five minutes late and he was already sweaty because of the run he made to reach the place he agreed to meet with Aomine. It wasn’t very difficult to detect him: he tried to disguise with a pair of sunglasses, a cap and a hoodie, but still couldn’t fool some his fans who were surrounding him, eagering for an autograph.  
Trying to catch his attention was out of discussion, since Kuroko couldn’t compete with the glittery and cute fans squeaking up and down, so he simply sat down on a bench, waiting for the attack to come to an end.

After twenty minutes Aomine managed to get rid of the lasts, a couple of siblings accompanied by a woman who probably was their mother, and sighed loudly enough for Kuroko to hear.

“Come on!” He looked around, bypassing two times the bench where Kuroko was sitting. “I knew he wasn’t coming… tch.” More than sitting, he let himself fall on the bench, right next to Kuroko. “My cover song as ringtone my ass.” His voice sounded as disappointed as it was his sad expression.

“I didn’t tell you a lie the other day.”

Aomine let out a very high pitched scream and almost fell down from the bench in the sudden attempt of escaping from the voice who came out from nowhere. He looked down filled with fright and noticed Kuroko with a hand raised in sign of greeting.

“Hello.”

“…h-hello…?” That situation was quite familiar. “Why did you scare me like that?!”

“I’ve been there for 20 minutes.”

“20???”

“More or less.”

“You are kidding me!”

“No, I’m serious.”

Aomine ogled at him with suspect. “About the ringtone, who’s telling me you didn’t set it yesterday or today?”

Kuroko took out his mobile and pressed some button before showing Aomine the screen. There were some data on it: the name of the song “ _Indigo_ ”, the type of file, the seconds it lasted, its dimensions and the date of its addition on the device.

“…this is the day after the release of the album.”

And all their personal songs were unreleased until the album came out. Aomine felt his face burn of happiness; then of shame and found difficult facing Kuroko’s unexpressive face.

“So you really like it.” His lips and cheeks were itching under the pressure of the smile he wasn’t able to hide.

“Yes.”

“Well okay.”

The silence between them became more awkward as the time passed. Kuroko found interesting fiddling with his mobile and wasn’t brave enough to spy on Aomine just to find out what he was doing.

“So…” He finally decided to start out of the blue. “I know a nice place who makes delicious sweets. Are you busy?”

Kuroko was proud of himself: he managed to say something coherent without stammering. He found enough strength to turn towards Aomine and, as he saw puzzled expression, Kuroko realized he probably had just said a nonsense and didn’t know how to take the words back into his mouth.

“I mean–“

“I’m not busy at all. And I don’t really know what to do now, so it’s fine by me.”

“–nice.”

After ten minutes walking together Kuroko hoped for his heartbeat to decelerate a bit, just to give him a short break. However every inch of his energy and control revolved around the firm thought of breathing and walking without stumbling into something. Kuroko had never put so much attention into his way of walking or moving around before and whatever he did made him thought he forgot how to use his entire body.  
On the contrary Aomine was tall, handsome, all his moves were cool. And he was looking at Kuroko.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Uh?”

“You’ve been staring at me.”

The traffic light turned green. They walked to the other side.

“No. You have something here.”

Kuroko touched his own face under the right eye and Aomine stroked himself on that point.

“Fine now?”

“Yes.”

Kuroko knew that date-not-date wasn’t going very well. He wasn’t able to use more than few words whenever Aomine tried to talk a bit and, after the fifth attempt, he just walked silently looking at the shops. He couldn’t let things going that way. He had a chance and if he were to waste it, Kuroko would have regretted it for all his entire life.  
He gathered all the courage he thought he had and opened his mouth.

“Aomine Daiki!!!”

However who screamed his full name wasn’t him. That was the voice of a girl and it attracted on Aomine the attention of all the people who weren’t attentive enough to guess who was hiding under that hoodie.

Before the crowd of fans gathered again, Kuroko perfectly heard Aomine sighing a low “Not again…”

He signed other countless autographs and when he finally was free again, Kuroko noticed he was holding his right wrist.

“Does your hand hurt?”

“It itches a bit.”

“It must be difficult dealing with your fans.”

“Nah, not really. I mean, more than once I thought they are a pain in the ass.” Those words pierced Kuroko. “But just when I was tired or angry. In the end they like us and if I were in their shoes I’d do the same. I have some famous people I’d like to meet too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But sometimes I really want to relax outside without someone bothering me. I know it’s not their fault but…”

Aomine sounded troubled. Yet his expression was a bit more relaxed and he looked a bit younger, as if his sexy and adult appearance ripped off giving space to the young man he still was.

“I think just a cap isn’t enough. Your hair are a trademark.”

“A trademark?”

Kuroko shrugged. “I have an idea, if you want to go stealth.”

“Go… stealth?”

Aomine ended up into a colorful shop filled with strange clothes. He didn’t even started to elaborate what that place could be that Kuroko dragged him inside, near some shelves full of different wigs.

“A wig?”

“A friend of mine in High School was part of the theatre club and sometimes I helped him finding scene objects.”

“I don’t think a wig can–“

“Please look.”

Aomine stopped staring at a rainbow curly wig. He was distracted only for a second and had already lost sight of Kuroko.

“Oi, where are y–“

He caught a movement on his left and turned. Aomine burst into a coarse guffaw.

“That isn’t a wig!!!” He managed to laugh out while keeping his stomach.

Kuroko took off from his face a pair of round and thick black glasses with a fake long and ugly nose adorned with a pair of giant gray mustaches.

“But you didn’t recognize me.”

“I recognized you!” Aomine was still chuckling and passed the right sleeve on his eyes. “Let me try them.” He adjusted them on his nose. “How do I look?”

“Utterly beautiful.”

“Pffff, then you can cast a joke.”

That wasn’t a joke. The rational part of Kuroko lost in the flowery delusion realized that he was so clouded by his own feelings that everything related to Aomine was beautiful and splendid, despite how it could be ugly or stupid. However the rest of his brain was half focused on Aomine and the other half on the firm thought of staying away from a risk of hyperventilation. That clash of different streams was hidden quite well behind Kuroko’s face, even if his expression was betraying a bit his happiness. His lips arched into a tiny smile as Aomine rustled looking for something else.

“Why not blonde?”

Aomine followed the advice, but as he looked at the mirror his amused grimace disappeared.

“Holy shit I look like Kise.” He almost threw the wig away. “No way. Better being assaulted.”

“Yes, that’s not your color.”

“Yup.”

Aomine turned so fast Kuroko didn’t have time to react. Caught by surprise, he closed his eyes and felt something being forced upon his head. As he lifted the eyelids, exchanged his own look into the mirror and wrinkled his nose.

“It seems like blonde isn’t your color either.” Aomine commented taking the wig away and Kuroko remained there, frozen by the shock. “Hey, hey.”

Kuroko reacted to that call.

“Yes?”

“How about brown?”

“Why not?”

They became aware of the time passing only when the owner of the shop heartily recommended them to go away, as they weren’t willing to buy anything, and outside the artificial lights were already turned on, reacting to the twilight of the sky.

“In the end you didn’t buy a wig, Aomine-kun.”

“Because I didn’t find a good one.”

“The red one was fine.”

“I looked like an idiot!”

“And the pink one?”

“Are you kidding me?”

Aomine observed the blue and orange skyline. “Man, it got late.”

“It’s all your fault.” Kuroko stated serious. “You wanted to try every wig.”

“You big liar! You made me try those braid things! How can I go stealth with braids on my head?!”

“But you kept putting on me curly wigs.”

“They suited you.”

Kuroko laughed and Aomine was impressed how he could look amused even by making such a small sound. Probably because the rest of the time he looked a bit gloomy and even the smallest glimpse of change stood out.

“That was unexpected. Since you are Akashi’s friend I thought you were some kind of serious guy who acted all cool following the rules. Well, at first you looked like one.”

“…serious guy following the rules? What does that mean? We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Okay but think about Akashi trying a wig. Oh come on!”

Aomine incited him and Kuroko tried to figure out Akashi inside the shop, trying the various wigs with his usual composure and probably looking a bit puzzled at his reflection on the mirror. He chuckled at the thought.

“I think he would be troubled a bit.”

“More than troubled!”

Kuroko felt relieved. He remembered from time to time who he was talking to and he tension struck back, however, looking back at what happened, he managed to act almost normally with Aomine, as if he was just one of his friends. No fast heartbeats, no get-go of a crisis. The harsh part of the “get to know me” seemed to have been overcame successfully. That realization gave him some energy and Kuroko came back to his previous idea of going to drink something together. Yet, as soon as he opened his mouth, Aomine’s phone rang.

“Uh, who’s that? Satsuki?”

The phone call was long enough for Kuroko to understand Aomine had to meet with the rest of the band.

“I have to go.”

“Be careful on your way back.”

Kuroko signed mentally to slap himself as soon as Aomine went away. He could have chosen another thing to say.

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. So…”

The silence became a bit awkward as they exchanged looks.

“…are you going to come and meet Akashi? Now or then, I mean.”

“I don’t know. It depends on what I have to do. And what you have to do.”

“We should be free for some time. I hope.”

“It’s a good thing having free time. You can rest.”

“Yes.” Aomine massaged his own head and looked away for an instant. “Alright. I’m going. Thank you and bye then.”

“It’s been a pleasure. Goodbye.”

Kuroko’s eyes lingered on Aomine’s back and when it disappeared at the end of the road, he slapped his forehead. Nobody noticed him.

 

***

 

“They’ve been texting each other almost every day now. And I think they’ll meet tomorrow again.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know the details but it seems they talk about set topics, nothing particular.”

“Oh, I’m so glad for Kuroko. He likes Aomine a lot, don’t him, Sei-kun?”

Furihata Kouki was a normal guy. If Kuroko had a low presence, Furihata was simply an average person. However Akashi found his being so simple an extraordinary thing and thought more than once why someone sweet like Furihata accepted to stay together with somebody like him.

They were sitting in the café, far from the windows to avoid inappropriate sights. Akashi casually put his hands near Furihata’s and a pleasant warmth spread inside him as their fingers intertwined. Akashi felt brave enough to kiss Furihata on his cheek.

“Tetsuya likes him, but I’m troubled.” Akashi took a sip of his café mélange. “I mean, I’m quite sure there’s a thing between Aomine and Momoi.”

“You were also quite sure I wasn’t interested in you back then until Kuroko helped you to figure it out.” Furihata caught Akashi’s hurt look. “I mean, you are a brilliant person but sometimes when it comes to practical things you are a bit too much theoretical…” Probably telling him he was simply dense on everyday life matters wasn’t very appropriate for Akashi’s pride and Furihata was happy he managed to find a much longer way to expose his point of view.

“So I should think less?”

“Certain things needs sensations more than thoughts.”

Furihata showed him a cute chuckle. Akashi still remembered the first times they met: Furihata always looked afraid and it didn’t seem he was able to speak properly near him without shaking. Then Akashi, thanks to Kuroko’s help, slowly learnt that behind the scared appearance there was a precious and caring boy who he ended up falling in love with. The change in their relationship was huge, considering at the beginning Akashi was firmly sure Furihata didn’t want to stay near him.

Akashi sank those memories in the strong flavor of his café and, as he put down the cup, his mobile ringed.

“I hope it’s not for work.” He sounded bothered. “Aomine…?”

“Is it work?”

“If it’s him, it surely isn’t work.”

That was a relief.

Furihata followed the movements of Akashi’s eyes reading the message and was surprised when he chuckled.

“Something’s wrong?”

Akashi showed him the message. “You were right, Kouki.”

The message wasn’t quite long and its meaning was brutally expressed right to the point.

“ _Oi Akashi, if I ask Kuroko if he has a girlfriend or a boyfriend already, will he get mad at me? I mean, it’s just a simple curiosity, nothing else._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akashi is dense about simple matters, I have this headcanon and it's a strong one. "Just a simple curiosity", Aomine kiss him already!  
> Thanks to all those who have read, commented, left kudos and whatever :)

**Author's Note:**

> It troubles me when they call each other... by name? By surname? I still didn't find a solid answer. I hope I'll manage to post the second part the next week.


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